Abstract: Lithofacies is one of the important contents in sweet spot evaluation for continental shale oil formations, and lithofacies types are closely related to reservoir properties, oil-bearing properties, mobility, and compressibility,etc. To address the problems that current lithofacies identification mainly relies on multiple laboratory analyses of cores, which are time-consuming, costly, and poor in timeliness, a lithofacies identification method while drilling based on elemental logging technology was studied by taking the continental shale in the lower Es3 submember of Well X in the Jiyang Depression as an example. Based on laboratory experimental analyses such as X-ray diffraction, rock pyrolysis, and thin section identification of continental shale cores and cuttings samples, the element-based calculation models for mineral components and total organic carbon (TOC) content, the identification chart for bedding development degree, and the bedding development index were established. By using the calculation models for mineral components and TOC content and the identification chart for bedding development degree, lithofacies identification was carried out based on the elemental logging data of cuttings samples, and the coincidence rate reached 86.5% compared with the lithofacies identification results based on laboratory data. The study indicates that the lithofacies identification method while drilling for continental shale oil formations based on elemental logging technology has good continuity, low cost, and strong timeliness, which can provide technical support for geosteering, and sweet spot evaluation of horizontal wells for shale oil and is conducive to the efficient development of shale oil.